chicagotribune.com's view

A simple nose job sometimes works wonders.

The 1987 Mercury Cougar, cousin to the Ford Thunderbird, sports a newfront-end treatment for `87, its 20th year on the market, giving the car alonger, lower, better look.

The egg-crate grille with vertical and horizontal bars that looked likethe front end was locked in a permanent pucker, was converted to a verticalbar grille with the Cougar head symbol in the middle.

The look is cleaner and far more distinctive. Flush mounted headlamps onboth sides further complement the clean, less bulbous look.

Mercury dealers wisely asked Ford to make another change, to do away with the 2.3-liter turbocharged 4-cylinder engine. Ford`s 3.8-liter V-6 is standardin the base Cougar, a 5-liter fuel injected V-8 optional. In the XR-7, the 5- liter is standard.

We test drove the XR-7 with the V-8 teamed with 4-speed automaticoverdrive (replacing `86`s 3-speed automatic). The V-8 is peppy enough; thecostly and more maintenance demanding turbo is left to T-Bird only.

One change not made was the addition of a few more inches of leg room for rear seat occupants, who, if in back very long, will find their faces lockedin a permanent pucker.

Cougar is a midsize, rear-wheel-drive car built on a 104-inch wheelbase(versus 105 inches on a rival front-wheel-drive Chevrolet Celebrity) that`s200 inches long overall. It`s a car for those who want rear-drive, but not thesize and price of the Mercury Grand Marquis.

The base Cougar LS starts at $13,360, the XR-7 at $15,660. For `87, Fordsaid it lowered Cougar`s base price by 0.8 percent or $122, but it madepreviously standard power windows an option. The Grand Marquis starts from$15,163 to $15,261.

A few other changes for `87 find the spare tire in the rear quarter panel to increase trunk room; manual air conditioning with tinted glass standard;and spring rates changed front and rear for firmer handling.

In February, a limited edition (5,000) anniversary model Cougar goes onsale with just about every creature comfort as standard, including the V-8. Noprice yet.